“You’ve already given that money to Bobby Ray,” she protested.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get it back from him,” he said grimly. “I’m not letting him off the hook.”
“We’re getting along okay without it.”
“Okay isn’t good enough. He owes you, Marianne. He owes both of you. Put it into Abby’s college fund, if you don’t need it now. Something tells me she’s going to want to go to Harvard or someplace else that’ll cost an arm and a leg to get into.”
“She’ll probably end up at UVA, like her uncle Kevin. She worships you, you know.”
“It works both ways.”
“Thanks, Kevin.”
“No problem. I’ll have her home right after supper.”
“I wish…”
“Never mind. I know.”
“You don’t know. I still can’t figure out how two people could share so much family history and turn out so differently. He wasn’t always like this. Sometimes I wonder if it’s not my fault.”
“How the hell could you think a thing like that?”
“You know, because of us.”
“You chose Bobby Ray, Marianne. He should have started counting his lucky stars that day and never stopped.” He hesitated, not sure how much his opinion was worth. Finally he asked, “Word of advice?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t let your bitterness over Bobby Ray ruin you for other men.”
“I’m not. I just wish they’d clone a few more of you.”
“I’m no prize, either,” he told her. “See you soon.”
He heard her sigh as he hung up. It was true, there had been a time when he and Marianne might have had a shot at something, but that was long ago. She’d chosen his flashier cousin, fallen head over heels for him, in fact. They’d been divorced within a year, just weeks after Abby’s birth.
If it had been left up to Bobby Ray, he and Abby probably would have had no relationship at all, but Marianne and Kevin had seen to it that they did. There were actually rare occasions when Bobby Ray showed a spark of interest in parenting his precocious daughter. Today hadn’t been one of those days.
Kevin went in search of his aunt and Abby. Not that finding them was difficult. They were giggling like a couple of schoolgirls, which only one of them was. He found them glued to the TV and another one of those preposterous talk shows. He stole the remote right out from under his aunt’s hand and flipped off the set.
“Aunt Delia, you should be ashamed of yourself. That’s nothing Abby ought to be watching.”
“She picked it,” his aunt grumbled.
“I doubt that.”
“I did,” Abby insisted. “It pays to be informed.”
To Kevin’s deep regret, she sounded exactly like Aunt Delia. “You don’t need to be informed about things like that for a very long time,” he insisted.
“Sure I do. That way I can stay out of trouble.”
“Just listen to your mom and your uncle Kevin. We’ll keep you out of trouble.”
Abby shook her head. “I don’t know about you, Uncle Kevin, but I don’t think Mom knows about stuff like this.”
“One of her highest recommendations, as far as I’m concerned,” Kevin declared. “Why don’t we play Old Maid or something?”
“Old Maid?” Abby hooted. “That’s a kid’s game.”
“You are a kid.”
“I’m not a baby.”
He grinned at her insulted air. “What would you like to play, then?”
“Poker,” she said at once.
“Wonderful,” Aunt Delia chimed in, always ready to do a little betting, no matter the stakes. “I’ll get the chips. A penny apiece.”
“Why not just use pennies?” Kevin asked. “Afraid we’ll get raided and you’ll be hauled away for contributing to the delinquency of a minor?”
“Just get the cards,” his aunt ordered. “Unless you’re too chicken to play with us.”
He scowled at the pair of them, but he retrieved the cards, then pulled a chair up to the card table and sat. “I’ll play,” he said grimly. “Just to be sure you don’t steal the child’s lunch money.”
As it turned out, the two females took every bit of change he had in his pockets along with another five dollars. If Bobby Ray ever discovered Abby’s skill, he’d probably have her on the next flight to Vegas.
“Enough,” he declared finally. “Molly probably has dinner ready by now.”
“You wish,” Abby taunted. “One more hand, winner take all.”
“You have a smart mouth, young lady,” he retorted. “And I’m not throwing one more penny into the pot.”
She grinned unrepentantly. “I thought you wanted me to grow up smart.”
“Brain smart, not sassy.”
“Leave the child alone,” Aunt Delia told him. “She won that money fair and square.”
“Maybe she did,” he conceded, gathering up the cards and feigning a count. “You, I’m not so sure about. Maybe I ought to check to see how many cards you’ve got tucked up those sleeves of yours.”
“That’s a fine way to talk to your elders,” Aunt Delia chided. “Abby, pay no attention to your uncle. He’s setting a very bad example.”
Abby giggled. “You two are so funny. I wish I could come here all the time.”
“You can come here anytime you want to, darling child,” Aunt Delia declared, hugging her. “You just call and Kevin will come for you. Isn’t that right, Kevin?”
“Anytime,” he agreed.
An hour and a half later, after a dinner of Abby’s favorite chicken and dumplings, he dropped her off at home, declining Marianne’s invitation to come in for coffee.
“I’ve still got a couple of places to stop tonight,” he told her, avoiding any specific mention of Bobby Ray.
“I really appreciate you rescuing Abby this afternoon.”
“Not a problem. If it happens again, she knows she’s to call me. She’s probably safe enough at Bobby Ray’s by herself, but I don’t like it.”
“He called here a little while ago to apologize for forgetting.”
“Too little, too late,” Kevin declared, then dropped a kiss on Marianne’s forehead. “You’re doing a great job with her. She’s a terrific kid.”
Marianne smiled. “Yeah, she is, isn’t she? I wish her dad could see it. I wish…”
She shook her head. “Never mind what
